Computer and communication technologies continue to advance at a rapid pace. Indeed, computer and communication technologies are involved in many aspects of a person's day. Computers commonly used include everything from hand-held computing devices to large multi-processor computer systems.
Computers are used in almost all aspects of business, industry and academic endeavors. More and more homes are using computers as well. The pervasiveness of computers has been accelerated by the increased use of computer networks, including the Internet. On a network, one or more servers may provide data, services and/or may communicate with other computers. The computers are often referred to as nodes. A computer network may have hundreds or even thousands of nodes.
Certain data may often need to be distributed to many nodes in a network. For example, a new piece of software may need to be distributed to many computers in a network. Sending a large amount of data to many network nodes may occupy a large amount of network bandwidth and processing resources.
As shown from the above discussion, there is a need for systems and methods that will improve the ability to multicast data from a computing device. Improved systems and methods may enable more efficient distribution of data to many nodes on a network. That is, the improved systems and methods disclosed herein may increase the efficiency of multicast by improving the handling of missed, dropped or lost packets.